miamivicefandomcom-20200223-history
Redemption in Blood
"Redemption In Blood" is the second episode of Miami Vice's fifth season. The episode premiered on November 11, 1988. Summary Tubbs feels the rampaging Sonny Burnett must be destroyed, but Crockett's memory is slowly returning and he realizes who he really is. It is the fifth episode of the Sonny Burnett Arc. Plot At the lighthouse, shots ring out, and Tubbs, after unsuccessfully trying to make Burnett recognize him, flees after Burnett fires at the wall (prevented from killing his partner after having flashbacks about "dirty cops"). Burnett sends Cliff King (Matt Frewer) and his goons after Tubbs. Tubbs runs through the woods, fights and kills one of King's men, and barely escapes in a hot-wired jeep. Switek says they cannot ID the dead thug - and Tubbs isn't sure if Crockett/Burnett has turned. Burnett buys Celeste (Debra Feuer) a bracelet of diamonds and rubies -- delivering it to her around the neck of Morris, a black panther. Burnett begins having more flashbacks to his life as Crockett, but ignores them and continues running the former Carrera cartel, catching two of El Gato's drug runners and blowing up his boats with Stinger missiles. King tortures the drug runners until Burnett orders them cut down and put to work for him. King is angrily opposed to this, so Burnett reiterates the order at gunpoint. ''El Gato'' (Jon Polito) is furious that Burnett is cutting into his business, and vows to kill him, King & Commandante Emilio Salazar. King privately expresses to Salazar (Victor Argo) his concern that Burnett's "cocaine habit" is clouding his judgment, attempting to take credit himself for bringing El Gato to his knees. Salazar tells him to "do what you must." Burnett is heavily drunk and begins to have flashbacks about himself and Tubbs. When Celeste enters their bedroom Burnett starts saying Caitlin's name while making out with her, then pushes her away and leaves, angering Celeste, who feels abandoned. She goes to a restaurant where she finds King instead of Burnett. King tells a story about a prized dairy cow, which is a metaphor for Burnett and Celeste's dependence upon him; King implies that when Burnett goes down, she will be dragged down with him - unless she does something about it. Burnett's memories as Crockett become more vivid while he's walking on the beach. After watching boxers train, Burnett heads for his limo with Celeste, but she pretends to go back into the arena for her purse. As Burnett approaches the limo his bodyguards discretely walk away. Celeste, scared and conflicted, runs out and calls to Burnett, who throws himself behind a car just as the limo explodes, badly injuring him. Salazar meets King, who has received word that Burnett is dead. In reality he wakes up in a hotel room with head trauma. He asks if Tubbs is after him and impulsively vows revenge on El Gato, before remembering what happened and realizing it was Celeste who set him up. When confronted, she desperately claims King made her do it and begs for forgiveness. Burnett pins her against the wall and puts his gun up to her face, but his Crockett memories and personality are restored and he cannot pull the trigger. Crockett asks a cowering Celeste to come to him and he embraces her. A very drunk El Gato is lamenting about his bad fortune to his friend Pedro, whom he shoots while declaring his supremacy. With his memory almost fully restored, Crockett realizes what he has to do, and returns to OCB to surrender, where he's met with guns drawn by the entire team. Crockett tries to remember the events of the boat explosion, working for Manolo and Carrera, but cannot remember shooting Jimmy Hagovitch, and reacts with genuine shock upon learning he shot Tubbs. Crockett wants to redeem himself by bringing down El Gato, King, and Salazar, but Castillo has to book him, and he is taken into interrogation with Tubbs, where his partner tells him that everything after the boat explosion was a blur. Tubbs refuses to work with Crockett (having nearly been killed by his partner twice), saying he'd "sleep on it". Switek takes him to booking; they pass by a sergeant, who comments to his own prisoner about Crockett being turned into Burnett. Crockett then knocks Switek down, takes his gun and runs out. Crockett (pretending to be Burnett again) stops by to question King about the limo bombing, and King gives him some evasive doubletalk about how everything is working and Burnett gets all the credit. Tubbs is convinced Crockett has turned over and he must be stopped, until they learn the thug Tubbs killed at the lighthouse was a Salazar employee. King tells Crockett the drop -- 500 pounds of Peruvian flake -- will be made at an old water tower in West Dade. Crockett excuses himself to the restroom, where makes a call, and returns to find one of King's men waiting for him. Crockett throws him back to King, asking him if he doesn't trust him. The trucks arrive at the water towers, but the prisoner Crockett saw at OCB fingers him for a cop, and King is about to hog-tie him when the police arrive. A gunfight ensues in which most of the cartel are either killed or arrested. King knocks Tubbs over the side of a catwalk and is about to shoot him when Crockett shoots King down, and pulls Tubbs up. Crockett heads to Celeste's place, where she is packing up to move on. He tells her she is a strong woman who, with enough hard work, can turn things around for herself. Just as they hug El Gato appears, demanding money at gunpoint. They trick him into entering a room where he thinks the safe is, instead finding Morris, who leaps at El Gato...and the screen fades to black. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett/Sonny Burnett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Guest Stars *Debra Feuer as Celeste *Jon Polito as Ernesto El Gato Manolo *Victor Argo as Commandant Emilio Salazar *Matt Frewer as Cliff King Co-Starring *Xavier Coronel as Aide *Robert Hoelscher as Policeman *Lynn Ladner and Jeff Staffaroni as Bodyguards *Steven Tyler as Reeves Notes *One of the most moving scenes in the series is when Crockett walks into OCB and is immediately met by guns drawn from the entire squad, and the "Castillo Staredown" for his actions as Burnett. *The conclusion of the Sonny Burnett trilogy set the tone for the final season, Crockett's actions as Burnett coming back to haunt him, his team reluctant to trust him, Switek's gambling issues, and his gradual feeling of burnout on his job. *The idea of Burnett giving a pet panther to his lover is probably inspired by the 1983 movie Scarface, in which Al Pacino's drug lord buys his wife a Bengal tiger. *''El Gato'' is wearing a necklace made from the hood ornament of a Mercury (shown by the cougar symbol). *Tim Truman's song "Everything Inside of Me" included Truman on vocals, and was used in place of a John Mellencamp song that producers could not get clearance for. Production Notes *Filmed: October 6, 1988 - October 14, 1988 *Production Code: 63906 *Production Order: 92 Filming Locations *Cape Florida Lighthouse, Bill Baggs State Park Park in Key Biscayne (Burnett/Tubbs in lighthouse) *Virginia Key (King meets with Salazar, later Burnett has flashbacks) *The Palace, 1200 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach (King/Celeste have dinner, later Crockett's memory restored) *NE 161st St / NE 21st Ave, North Miami (Ending shootout between King and SRT) Music *"You Never Listen To Me" by Peter Cetera (Crockett/Burnett in lighthouse at open and Tubbs' escape) *"Don't Give Up" by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush (Crockett's memory comes back and walks to OCB) Tim Truman Music *"Everything Inside of Me" (Crockett drunk/has flashbacks) *"Limo Explosion" (Car bomb explodes) *"Sonny Can't Remember" (Sonny on beach before car bomb explosion) Quotes *"Sonny, don't you recognize me?" -- Tubbs before Crockett/Burnett shoots at him *"I'm not asking for absolution here, just a little help & understanding!" -- Crockett to Castillo & Switek *"Your yellow sheet makes Dillinger look like Bambi!" -- Tubbs to Crockett Category:Miami Vice Season 5 Episodes